Between The Raindrops
by Scorpiofreak
Summary: Nineteen year old Alice Liddell flees London and escapes the harmful clutches of her malicious stalker and former psychiatrist, Dr. Angus Bumby, with the help of her former foster brother, Aster Bunnymund. Once safe from danger, Alice tries to salvage what remains of her broken life with a new start in the States. /Ice Tea and Sweet Tooth Pairings/ Rating may change. AU modern fic
1. Alice and Aster

**AN: Oh God. This is- Can it be? I think it is!  
Dun dun dun! ****ROTG/AMR modern day AU! *****collective groan of pain and despair***

**I know, I know. ROTG AU's have been done to death already. So much so it's driving us all crazy, ****but really, when you think about it, is any ROTG crossover complete without an AU fic? I don't think so, and since nobody else is stepping up to the plate, I guess Scorpio will have to do the dirty work.  
****Hopefully, I will be able to make something original out of such an overused concept, but if not, at least this AU will have Alice in it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians or Alice: Madness Returns.**

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Alice's stomach churned unpleasantly for the umpteenth time when the airplane gave one final, nauseating lurch as it touched back down on solid ground again with a jarring thump that carelessly jostled the passengers within.

It was Alice's first time flying and it hadn't proved to be a very enjoyable experience, whatsoever.

Yes, the captivating sight of the glowing city lights far below them as they approached their destination had been dazzling and delightful to look at, but did she find it worth the ride? No, not at the moment. Her unsettled insides could be a decent testament to that.

The concept of flying wasn't really what bothered her though, surprisingly enough. The fear of heights wasn't her chosen phobia and she didn't really see any reason to fear them from her own personal standpoint (Although she _could_ see how other people might find them terrifying).

No, it was the idea of being packed into such a small space with a large mass of complete strangers. Alice could easily handle flying through the air thousands of miles from the ground, but the people? Definitely not the most comfortable situation she's ever been in.

The rough turbulence the plane experienced almost every twenty minutes throughout the entire flight hadn't been very entertaining either, but at least it was finally over and Alice could allow the knots in her stomach to loosen up their sickening hold on her internal organs.

As the large airplane began to slowly inch itself across the runway and towards the brightly shining airport on the other side, a loud and slightly shrill chime echoed throughout the cabin of the plane and the overhead intercom buzzed with static, followed closely by the pilot's monotonous voice.

_"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just arrived at our destination for the evening. It is 2:45 in the AM with a chilly fifty-eight degrees Fahrenheit outside so make sure to bundle up tight. We thank you for flying United Airlines and hope you enjoyed your flight. We also welcome you warmly to the United States of America and wish you all a safe night."_

The pilot's announcement was short and somewhat clipped, but Alice was willing to chalk it up to fatigue on the pilot's part. It _was_ a rather long flight after all and he probably had worse jet-lag than anybody.

After the closing chime of the intercom faded out, the lights overhead flickered on and the seatbelt warning sign blinked off, which immediately caused the plane to erupt into a flurry of noise and movement as people began to rise from their seats to stretch and gather their belongings.

To protect what little remained of her personal space, Alice chose to stay seated until most of the other passengers exited the plane before she eventually followed suit. She didn't have enough fight in her to wrestle over elbow room with overweight men, and women with far too many children.

Alice was one of the last few people on the plane by the time she finally stood up to breathe life back into her stiff limbs. Once her joints were a little more loose and manageable, the dark-haired girl reached under the seat in front of hers and pulled out her worn, red pea coat and quickly slipped it on before moving out into the empty aisles to collect her bag from the overhead compartment.

The flight attendant by the door gave Alice a tired smile and bid her a goodnight which she returned politely as she stepped off the plane. From there, Alice moved idly through the motions. Absentmindedly following directory signs, presenting her passport when asked by airport officials, and quietly apologizing whenever she would occasionally bump into a stranger.

She wasn't so much as tired as she was emotionally drained. The past year and a half had been nothing short of absolute hell for Alice, filled with nothing but stress, fear, dread, hopelessness, and mind-numbing despair. At that point in time, the only thing that really kept Alice moving one foot in front of the other, was the blissful thought that she had left everything back in London when she, quite literally, _fled_ the godforsaken city.

That, _and_ the person undoubtedly waiting outside the airport terminal for her arrival. Her detached mood lightened considerably when she finally caught sight of him.

Just like he promised, Aster Bunnymund was standing right outside the entrance of the baggage claim area of the small airport.

Their eyes seemed to meet each others at the same time as Aster -or who was more commonly referred to by his nickname; Bunny- pushed off the wall he was leaning on, and moved to meet her halfway with a smothering hug which she gladly returned. Alice wasn't much of an affectionate person but she hasn't seen her closest friend, and former foster brother, in person since she was eleven and she was more than willing to push her personal space issues aside for him.

"Well it's about bloody time," Bunny laughed heartedly into the fabric of Alice's coat. The hug lasted a good five seconds until they pulled apart to take in each other's appearance.

Bunny was just barely pushing past twenty-four but he could easily be mistaken for someone older with the scruffy beard and ridiculous mutton-chop sideburns he always bore in the rare photographs he sent to her through the frequent letters they exchanged over the past year. He was also taller than Alice remembered him being, but perhaps that was because she herself was a little on the short side for someone her age. Despite those few new changes though, there was still a lot about Bunny that was exactly the same.

His hair was still the same shade of dark brown as she remembered and his eyes were still forest green (not that she expected those to change). His trademark, buck-toothed smile was still very much the same and still his most dominant feature. Alice always imagined that the over prominence of Bunny's two front teeth made him look quite silly as a child, but now that he was an adult, they only seemed to add more charm to his rough, authentic Aussie look that no doubt turned a few pretty heads his way when he walked down the street.

Of course Bunny's good looks were lost on Alice. She only saw him as her surrogate old brother whom she meet when she was eight in a foster home after a terrible house fire took the lives of her parents and older sister, Elizabeth. The fire happened a year earlier on a cold November night in which Alice had been the only survivor. Alive, but badly scarred and burnt, Alice spent a year in an infirmary where she was treated for her burns and severe mental trauma caused by the fire.

When Alice was released, she became even more reclusive than she was before her family's death. So reclusive in fact, that no orphanage could handle keeping her for more than a few weeks at a time. So for the next handful of months, she continued seeing a flurry of different doctors while being tossed around different orphanages all throughout Oxford before she was finally sent to live with a foster family in London where she met Aster for the first time.

Bunny had been born in Sydney, Australia where he spent a decent-sized chunk of his childhood, but after his own parent's death - and no other family to take him in - he was placed in an orphanage. He didn't stay very long though. After only a few weeks, Bunny easily slipped out the window of the bedroom he shared with nine other boys and took off into the night. Nobody even noticed he was gone until several weeks later.

Admittedly, Bunny was a bit of a wild child when he was younger, and not to mention a troublemaker. His parents owned a huge ranch when they were alive and Bunny spent almost all of his time outdoors, caring for the animals and learning to live off the land. When he became an orphan, he practically _bounced_ from place to place. He would never stay in one orphanage or foster home for very long, regardless of how he was treated. He would stay maybe three months tops before taking off during the night, living on his own and relying solely on his instincts. It was only when he was running low on food and bridges to sleep under that he allowed the police, or other authority figures, to pick him up and place him in a home. They could never catch him otherwise, he was far too fast and clever for them.

Eventually, Bunny's near nomadic lifestyle lead him overseas to Europe where he found himself in jolly ol' London with no resources to live off. So just like many times before, he wandered around aimlessly, making sure to play the part of a helpless orphan perfectly, before he was picked up and placed with a foster family. He didn't remember much about the couple who owned the house, except that they had been very nice people, but not very interactive foster parents. They basically let the children under their care run free, which was one of the two reasons why he stayed with them so long.

The other reason had been because of Alice, the only other child living in the house with him.

At first, Bunny didn't even realize there was another kid living with them. The couple never said anything about her and she never showed herself to him. It was only when he started getting the feeling that someone was watching him that he finally noticed the little, dark-haired girl. She was like a bloody cat, hiding behind furniture and under beds where she would just sit and watch him with wide, green eyes. Bunny tried to ignore her in the beginning. He always stubbornly avoided making any personal connections with other people because of his constantly changing lifestyle and past hurts, but the girl's strange behavior eventually became so unnerving, he decided to try and initiate some sort of contact with her.

She completely blew him off when he first tried to talk to her, but she seemed to like following him around a lot during the rare days he spent lounging around the house. She never followed him outside though and he never actually got a good look at her until a few months after he first arrived because she was always hiding. It was around that time Bunny discovered the back story behind Alice and why there was always doctors coming in and out of the house. After that, he felt a bit of a kinship with the girl and he really started to try and coax her out of hiding. He eventually succeeded and they grew close. Their bond grew stronger the more Alice opened up. They even became inseparable at one point and Bunny didn't even realize he had spent almost _four years_ with the same foster family.

But due to some unfortunate mishap between the married couple that Bunny and Alice stayed with, the pair were taken from their care. The whole ordeal wouldn't have been nearly as upsetting if the duo hadn't been separated and Bunny, despite his best efforts, lost track of Alice when he somehow found himself being sent back to Sydney.

That was when Alice had her relapse.

Her mental health took a complete nose dive and the trauma she experienced from the fire and her family's death returned tenfold. She spent days screaming and fighting anybody who came near her until the orphanage she was placed in had her institutionalized in Rutledge Asylum. After that, Alice fell into a catatonic state that took seven years and countless medications to bring her out of.

It was a long, _agonizing_ road, but Alice miraculously pulled through. Her recovery came rather swift after that, something her doctors haven't been able to explain, and Alice was released into the care of Doctor Angus Bumby where she would be further treated, but free from the claustrophobic walls of the asylum that Alice called home for eight years.

And that's where the _real_ trouble began, believe it or not.

But now, that was all behind her and Alice refused to think more of it.

The only thing that had gotten her through that long year of hell, were the letters she and Bunny exchanged when the ever-resourceful Aussie managed to track down Alice's location even though he lived all the way in the United States. Bunny was the one who convinced Alice to runaway from the nightmare that was her life in London and come start a new one in America. She had been extremely doubtful about following through with the idea at first - rightfully so might she add - but now that she was actually there, together again with him, she was glad she did.

A new start, he said. A second chance at a better life. It sounded rather whimsical but Alice couldn't deny she found it quite appealing, especially after what she went through back in London.

"Christ kid," Bunny smiled as he took in the girl he hasn't seen in eight years. She was no longer the little ankle biter he use to have imaginary tea parties with, that's for sure. When they last saw each other, Alice was just a scraggly half-pint of a child, but now, he barely even recognized the beautiful young lady standing in front of him. Her emerald, green eyes were still exactly the same though, too big for her face and naturally inquisitive. "Look at you. I haven't seen you in ages."

"I know," Alice smiled back. "I missed you so much."

"Same here," Bunny pulled her into another hug. When they pulled back and broke apart completely, Bunny let out an audible breath as silence fell over them, a slight awkwardness creeping in. "So, how was the flight?"

"_Excruciating_ long, _extremely_ stuffy, and _far_ too boring," Alice replied melodramatically.

"Glad you had fun," Her friend teased before wrapping his arm around Alice's shoulders, and leading her over to the baggage claim.

The next twenty minutes were spent with idle chit-chat as they waited for Alice's bags. It seemed as if both of them were going out of their way to avoid the obvious elephant in the room. Admittedly, neither of them have been very confrontational people when it came to drama, but Bunny knew there was more to it than that.

He didn't know how sensitive Alice still was about this whole situation, so he decided to hold off on questions until Alice felt comfortable enough to confide in him. There was no point in pushing things. If he tried, Alice would undoubtedly turn to stone and that would get him nowhere. He wasn't too worried though. It was all in the past now and there was more than enough time for him to hear the whole story later.

When Alice's luggage finally came out, they gathered up what little she owned and moved to leave the airport.

"Go ahead, Bunny, I've got one more possession to collect," Alice told him somewhat cryptically while she rooted around in her satchel for her passport. Bunny gave her a suspicious look before she waved him away. "Well, go on. I'll be out in a moment."

He held his gaze a little longer before he turned away and made for the airport exit. Once the automatic sliding doors closed behind him, Alice walked over to the nearest airport employee she could see; a middle-aged man in a neon orange, safety vest, standing near a circuit box.

"Excuse me," Alice spoke up.

The man looked up from the wires he was fiddling with, and turned to the girl addressing him. "Yeah?"

"Could you possibly tell me where one would go if they needed to claim a pet?"

The worker blinked at her a few times - probably a bit thrown by her accent - before responding. "Oh yeah, sure. It's down that way somewhere. There should be a window with a sign. Ya can't miss it."

"Thank you very much," Alice said before bidding the man a goodnight.

True to the man's word, she easily found the mentioned window, and much to her delight, it was still open. Alice would've hated it if she had to come back tomorrow.

After a quick and polite interaction between her and the woman running the animal claim, Alice showed the woman her passport as proof of ownership and the woman left the window. She came back several minutes later with a small, gray animal carrier and Alice couldn't help but smile when she saw it.

Once the woman handed it over to her, the dark-haired girl held up the carrier and looked at the gray and black creature laying inside.

"Aww," Alice cooed gently. "Are you alright in there, love?"

The creature's golden eyes slowly opened and blinked lazily at Alice a couple times before closing again.

"I don't suppose you're flight was any more pleasant than mine," Alice commented dryly, more to herself than her furry companion as she grabbed the carrier by its handle and made her way to the airport exit.

Bunny was waiting just outside the doors with Alice's other luggage already loaded into his car. When he saw Alice come out of the airport with the carrier in her hand, his face curled up in clear disdain.

"What in the hell is _that_?" He asked with obvious distaste, pointing at the carrier. "That better not be what I think it is."

Alice let out an indignant huff before placing her free hand on her hip. "And what if it is? It's not like you're allergic to them or anything."

"Aw, come on, Alice! Are you kiddin' me?" Bunny practically whined. "You know I hate cats!"

"I know that, but what would you have me do? Abandon him on the cruel streets of London?"

"Yes!"

"Oh you are such a baby sometimes," Alice scolded before she moved to open up the back door of Bunny's car. She ignored his angry mumblings as she placed the carrier on top of the car and opened the cage door. She reached in and gently pulled out the gray and black tabby and cradled him in her arms before tossing the empty carrier into the back seat.

"I can't believe you brought your cat with you," Bunny shook his head as he opened the passenger door for Alice and closed it once she was inside.

"Well, that's where you were mistaken," She chided lightly, running a hand down her pet's soft back.

Suddenly too tired to put up more of a fight, Bunny just rolled his eyes and got into the driver's seat. "That thing better be house trained, and I swear to God Alice, if any of my furniture gets so much as a scratch on it, I'm going to be making myself a new fur hat."

"Don't worry, Bunny. He'll be on his best behavior," Alice promised before she held the cat out in front of her with her hands under his front legs. "Won't you, Cheshire?"

The tabby mewed quietly in response.

"Poor thing," Alice pouted, placing the exhausted cat back on her lap. "He still must be a bit tiddly from the sedatives."

"Good," Bunny remarked callously as he started the car. "Hopefully he'll sleep through the night and I won't have to deal with him."

"I doubted it," Alice said wistfully as her gaze fell on her window. It was too dark to see anything clearly, but she stared out the glass plane anyways. "I'm sure he'll be up and wandering about in a few hours."

"Oh joy."

Silence fell over the car and the only sounds in the car were the hum of the engine and faint static coming from the shoddy station his radio was set on. Bunny readjusted his rear-view mirror a couple times in a lousy attempt to distract himself from the thick silence while he occasionally threw a few cursory glances Alice's way.

Finally deciding he had enough silence, Bunny spoke up tentatively. "I got some good news for ya...I got a call from the Realtor yesterday. The sale went through and she said you'll be free to move in whenever you're ready. I've only got one thing I have to do tomorrow so we can go look at it then. It is a really nice house, Alice. It's a bit old and gloomy lookin' but it's a three-story Victorian with a gate and a big rose garden in the backyard. It's almost completely dead though since nobody's lived in the house for years, but I'll help you restore it, if you want..."

In lieu of a response, Alice just let out a low hum of acknowledgement.

When Alice's parents died, everything they owned went to Alice, leaving her with a sizable inheritance that would allow her to live rather comfortably for the rest of her life if she managed her finances responsibly. The Liddell's weren't a family of obscene wealth when they were alive, but they were well off. Alice's father had been a dean at Oxford University while her mother worked alongside him as a professor. When their oldest daughter, Elizabeth, turned eighteen, they made out a will and testament leaving everything to their two daughters in the unfortunate event that something were to happen to them, but since Alice's sister perished along with her parents in the fire, Alice was made sole beneficiary of the will.

Her inheritance paid for the house Bunny spoke about. Alice didn't get the chance to see any pictures of the structure before she wired the money to Bunny so he could handle the buying process while she worked on getting a Visa, but she didn't really care. Bunny told her it was a nice house and she took his word for it, and even if it wasn't, she wouldn't mind just as long as she had a place to live.

Bunny sighed heavily at Alice's aloof brush off.

"Look, Alice," Bunny started as he absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I know you're probably still shaken up about everything that's happened this past year, but just remember, it's all behind ya now. You're here with me, nice and safe. And once your old nanny's Visa comes through, you won't have to live in that big house alone...I still don't know why you insist on her coming to live with ya though."

"She took care of my sister and I when we were infants," Alice sighed while rubbing the thickening fog away from her vision. "She's the last living connection I have to my family and she's getting older. I won't allow her to spend one more year in that whorehouse while I live comfortably halfway across the world. And besides... it's no longer..._safe_ for her there. Not since I left."

Another silence fell again for several, dismal minutes before Alice quietly spoke up again.

"What if he finds me, Bunny?"

"He's not going to find you, Alice," Bunny answered immediately as his grip on the wheel tightened and he gritted his teeth, the very thought of that sick and twisted man making his blood boil. "He's all the way back in London with the police out for his head. He'll be too busy hiding like the little rat he is to come lookin' for you."

Alice tore her gaze from the window and fixed Bunny with a hard, piercing stare. "But what if he does?"

The Aussie stayed silent while he stared vacantly out the windshield of the car as he picked his brain for an appropriate response that he hoped would calm all his friend's worries and help her let go of her many inhibitions. When he finally came up with something good enough, he took one of his hands off the wheel and reached over to grab Alice's. He squeezed it reassuringly.

"Then he'll have _me_ to deal with."

Bunny's bold, green eyes shined with honest sincerity and an unspoken promise that wasn't lost on Alice as he took his eyes off the road ahead of them to look at her. He made sure that his gaze conveyed every comforting word he knew was bubbling somewhere in his head but wasn't quite able to grab a hold of before he gently dropped her hand and looked back at the road.

"Alright," Alice sighed after her friend released her hand and it fell back on the soft pelt of her sleeping cat.

She looked back at the window and watched with dull, forlorn eyes as a thin sheet of frost slowly crawled its way across the cold surface.

"If you say so, Bunny."

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**AN:** **Alright, that was the first chapter. If you loved it, please let me know! ****This is** **story I work on from time to time whenever I'm bored, or when I'm stuck on the next chapter of Winter Wonderland.  
****And just so you all know right off the bat, I'm going to try and make this story as realistic as possible so there won't be any trips to Wonderland for Alice. Although, there will be mentionings of her Wonderland and it's characters. I'll try and incorporate as many concepts as I can.**

**If I get a decent amount of reviews and support showing that people are interested in seeing more, than I'll make it a point to update regularly, but if not, updates will come whenever I get around to typing up a new chapter.**

**~Scorpiofreak~**


	2. New Home, New Life

**AN: So, so sorry that this update took so long. I meant to update earlier, but I fell behind on some things. Thanks to the few of you who reviewed. I really appreciate it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians or Alice: Madness Returns.**

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It was late in the morning by the time Alice pulled herself from her loaned bed in Bunny's apartment. Through the constant tossing and turning, vivid nightmares, and the occasional car alarm sounding off somewhere outside, she was able to get in about three hours of rest before waking up and deciding that was the best she was going to get.

Ever the gentleman, Bunny offered to take the couch in the living room while Alice took his bed. She declined his offer at first, still not comfortable with accepting kindness from others, even Bunny, but she had been running on fumes for days and was in no condition to put up a decent argument. With little resistance, the man was able to coax her into agreeing with a half-hearted grunt and a gentle nudge forward.

After a late breakfast, the pair set out for a brief tour of Burgess before driving out to the outskirts where Alice's new home was located. Upon their arrival, they were greeted stiffly by the falsely enthusiastic Realtor that sold Bunny the house. They were immediately given the grand tour of the old three-story, Victorian home.

"Other than the furniture, everything is exactly as it was last left."

Bunny watched stoically from the large doorway he was leaning on with crossed arms as their assigned realtor, a woman by the name of Bridget Lange, ushered the home's new owner into the front foyer where she proceeded to unload every piece of information she had on the house in one, extremely long monologue.

"There have been a few touch-ups done to the foundation since the upkeep of the house has been poor these past few years, and some windows have been replaced due to weather damage, and/or children with a penchant for throwing stones, but for the most part, this house has aged relatively well, all things considered," Bridget spoke fluidly while gesturing in several different directions.

Personally, Bunny didn't like Ms. Lange very much. Without a doubt, she was very good at her job, very professional, but on more than one occasion, he has caught her treating the people working for her (or _under her_ as she often liked to put it) like complete garbage, which Bunny didn't appreciate. She was the type of high-end business people who saw painters, carpenters, gardeners, and various other home improvement professionals, as nothing but blue-collar help because their jobs involved more physical labor. That kind of attitude just rubbed him the wrong way, especially since Bunny made most of his living doing those same jobs.

However, despite all that, Bunny had to admit, the woman knew her stuff. There was no shortage of information on the Victorian home.

Although, whether Alice was actually listening to said information, was a complete mystery to him. As the realtor continued to speak almost non-stop, Alice slowly strolled about the different rooms on the first floor while her green eyes trailed along the freshly painted walls and softly creaking floorboards. All the while, being silent as a graveyard.

"It's not quite as old as some of the houses in this area since Burgess was founded more than three centuries ago, but it does have an interesting enough history. Owned by the Hawthorne family, which so happens to be one of the town's founding families. Along with other family names such as Burgess, Holloway, Shepherd, Bennett, and Overland."

"All those families still live here?" Bunny asked from the doorway, speaking for the first time since arriving at the house.

Mrs. Lange turned to him with a look on her face that suggested she had forgotten he was there, but she quickly covered it up with a blinding smile. "Oh yes, they're all still here. This is the type of town were nobody ever truly leaves. It's a tight-knit community. Everyone was quite upset when the Hawthorne family name was finally put to rest."

"You mean when the previous owner died," Alice spoke in a flat tone as she slid her fingertips over the dusty surface of the staircase banister. It wasn't a question.

The realtor's bright, somewhat forced smile faltered a fraction at Alice's blank statement and dry attitude, but she soon collected herself again. "Yes...I meant when the owner died."

"I understand the need for euphemisms when it comes to such topics, but don't waste my time with platitudes," Alice said bluntly as she rubbed her dust-covered fingers together in bored observation. "I've never met the woman who owned this house, therefore I would have no cause to be upset if you were to be straightforward about it. You're only being unnecessarily wordy and that annoys me."

And so it begins.

Bunny inwardly groaned as he brought up a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"O-oh, right. I'm sorry," Mrs. Lange apologized briskly, momentarily stumbling over her words. "I'll try to avoid doing that again."

Irregardless of his own personal opinion of her, Bunny couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the woman, especially since he knew Alice wasn't finished with her yet. The girl could be pretty cold and cutting when she wanted to be.

"Furthermore, to suggest that the townspeople were more upset about something so meaningless as a family name being laid to rest, rather than the actual living, breathing person who possessed said family name - doesn't exactly paint a very flattering picture of this town and I would suggest not doing that again in the future, lest you lose customers. It comes off as apathetic, and just plain soulless, even by _my_ standards, which is quite impressive."

"You make it sound like that's somethin' she should feel proud of," Bridget heard Mr. Bunnymund scoff and mumble from behind her, making the Realtor feel a little boxed in as Ms. Liddell turned around to look at her companion. She felt even more boxed in when the two appeared to be exchanging some unspoken conversation from across the room.

An uneasy silence then fell over the three as Alice stepped into the house's impressive library. Most of the former owner's book collection still ran along the dark wood shelves that lined the walls, but there was plenty of space for Alice to work with if she ever decided to build up her own collection.

Despite its slightly downtrodden and tarnished appearance on the outside from years of being empty, it was a rather spectacular house inside. Though there was obvious damage from Mother Nature and Father Time acquired over the years, it was clear from the tall, beautiful mosaic windows that shined within the library and the overall craftsmanship of the structure, the house had once been taken great care of. It clearly had been very important to someone at one time.

"Please tell me, Mrs. Lange, how did the former owner die again?" Alice asked curiously as she brushed a thick layer of dust off one of the artful windows, causing sunlight to stream in and illuminate the floor with reds and blues. The window depicted a picture of blue butterflies resting on top of a cluster of red roses. It matched the large, mosaic swirls that decorated the floor in the foyer of the house.

"Alice. Don't."

The realtor's gaze flickered between Mr. Bunnymund and the young woman standing across the room from her. The girl was...unsettling to say the very least. She couldn't have been much older than eighteen or nineteen, but she spoke unlike any teenager Bridget had ever encountered. Her green gaze was calculating and sharp like broken glass.

Bridget had been in contact with Aster Bunnymund for several weeks now, ever since he expressed interest in purchasing the old Hawthorne's home, but it threw her for a loop to learn that the man only acted as an advocate for the true buyer of the property.

She really didn't know what to make of the two standing with her in the foyer. She didn't think they were together in a romantic relationship. They didn't act like any of the young couples she came into contact with on a weekly basis - deeply in love and giddy about the prospect of buying a new home and beginning a new chapter of their life together. If anything, the two acted more like siblings than anything else, but she wasn't too sure about that either. They spoke with two, completely different accents with different surnames. Not to mention they didn't _look_ related. Adoptive siblings perhaps? Lifelong friends? Lovers with very conservative views on public displays of affection? Bridget could only guess.

However, regardless of the unusual vibes she picked up from the bizarre pair, she was relieved to have finally sold the Hawthorne house. She had been trying to sell the property for _years_. Children around town loved to pretend the house was haunted. Old Lady Hawthorne became a bit of a paranormal celebrity in Burgess after she died. Of course, there wasn't any real reason to believe the house was haunted other than its appearance, but because the former owner had died _inside_ the home, many prospective buyers have been put-off many times by the fact. It was a real deal-breaker apparently. Bridget only ever mentioned it if they asked, but thanks to the house's well-known reputation, they _always_ asked.

Fortunately, Mr. Bunnymund and the girl didn't seem to care about the house's history - much to Bridget's relief.

The girl - _Ms. Liddell _(Bridget reminded herself) was looking expectantly at her now, her piercing gaze never wavering even at the call from her...whatever Mr. Bunnymund was to her. The girl was making her uncomfortable and it seemed the older of the pair recognized this, if the mild warning in his accented voice was anything to go by.

"I bel-" She cleared her suddenly dry throat. "I believe it was cancer."

Alice's face twisted up slightly at her response. "Cancer. What a horrible illness."

At a long-since loss of words, Bridget could only nod in agreement as she slowly inched back towards the front door, obviously trying to look casual while doing it, but failing horribly. Both Alice and Bunny were highly perceptive people. Bunny could tell the woman was using all of her willpower to resist bolting from the house. When the moving trunk pulled up outside the front gates, she all but sobbed with relief.

"Oh thank God, the movers are here," She let out an alleviated laugh before quickly correcting herself when she saw the looks her clients were giving her. She straightened her back and cleared her throat again, valiantly fighting back a blush before striding over to the open front door. "I'll just go open the gates for them."

"Thanks darlin'," Bunny gave her a small, appreciative nod while stepping out of her way as she practically fled the house. He watched her go with a frown before turning back to Alice who was innocently checking her eye makeup for streaks in a dusty mirror hanging on a nearby wall. "Did you hafta do that?"

"Do what?" She asked indifferently as she combed some of her hair back with her fingers, still watching her reflection.

"Don't play coy with me. I saw what you were doin'. You were doin' that thing where you creep people out and make them think you're some demented demon child straight out of The Omen."

"Oh but mother," Alice whined, giving him a fake pout. "I was just having a spot of fun with the nice lady."

Bunny rolled his eyes and rubbed one of his temples as Alice snickered softly at her own antics while watching her reflection do the same.

"Be serious," He said.

"Fine," She replied flippantly. "I don't enjoy being in the company of someone who thinks they're better than someone else because of their title, or how much income they take. It's rude."

Ah, so she _did_ notice.

"Still though," Bunny said, not even bothering to hide his smirk. "Cutthroat much?"

"Hopefully now she'll have some inkling of how she makes other people feel when she mistreats them so mercilessly," Alice huffed as she joined Bunny by the front door to watch the movers start unloading their truck. "Did you hear how rudely she spoke to her assistant when we first arrived this morning? All the poor thing could do was just stand there and take it."

"Yeah well, that's their business, not ours."

Alice rolled her eyes at the classic Bunnymund response. "You didn't like her either. I could tell."

"You're right, I didn't like her," He agreed. "But she's been decent to us professional-wise, so that needs to be taken into consideration."

"Oh please," Alice scoffed as she crossed her arms under her chest after brushing some dust off her dark blue cardigan. "If you weren't one of her clients, she'd be treating you with the same respect she's treating those movers over there."

Bunny looked in the direction Alice was pointing and frowned when he saw the Realtor harping nastily at a couple of movers unloading boxes. He rolled his eyes again and sighed.

"Realtor aside, how do you like the house?"

"It's alright," She replied noncommittally.

The movers were bringing up boxes towards the house now so the two friends moved further down the front porch to give them full access to the front door.

Silence fell over them as they watched the world around them idly. Bunny leaned against the porch railing and crossed his arms while Alice pulled herself up to sit on the wooden surface with one leg crossed over the other. It was still late Summer that year, but Burgess has always been known to start Autumn early and end Winter late. A slightly chilled breeze swept over the pair, causing Alice to pull her top layer tighter around herself. Not that it would do much good. She was wearing just a white camisole underneath her dark blue cardigan with only a skirt and black tights to protect her legs. Bunny suspected she did it more for security than comfort considering that London did a fantastic job of building up a person's tolerance for cold weather.

Alice watched with a blank face as men in grey jumpsuits brought in boxes filled with stuff that wasn't really hers. She had brought very little with her when she fled London. Only one suitcase consisting of a few changes of clean clothes, some toiletries, a book or two, her letters from Bunny, and a few sentimental objects. Certainly not enough to fill up such a big house. Most of the former owner's possessions were still inside, like furniture and kitchenware, but it was still pretty empty. So she had Bunny order some miscellaneous housewares to help personalize her new home. She didn't really care what he purchased for her, just as long as she could tolerate looking at it everyday, but her thoughtful friend went the extra mile and made sure to pick out stuff he knew was Alice's "style", which happened to be old-fashioned, just like her wardrobe and vocabulary.

The two friends sat in comfortable silence for quite sometime before a high-pitched, and rather chipper sounding, ringing noise shattered it.

Bunny jumped slightly at the sudden sound before quickly (at little _too_ quickly in Alice's opinion) reaching into his pocket and pulling out an old cellphone, immediately drawing a curious look from Alice. She would've never pegged Bunny for someone who owned a cellphone, even if it was more convenient these days to own one.

Predictably, it was an old, junk store model with a top that flipped up and, what looked like, a piece of duct tape holding the back closed, but at least it functioned properly. Bunny wasn't motivated enough to buy one of the newer models. As long as he could send and receive phone calls, he didn't care whether or not he could play Angry Birds on it, or access the Facebook page he never planned to create.

Alice smiled softly at Bunny and his "It's-good-enough" lifestyle. She had noticed a lot of his things were like his little cellphone; worn out and secondhand - his apartment being one of the more obvious ones.

The building itself wasn't the most beautiful and well-put-together of places, but it was the first place Bunny had acquired entirely on his own without being forcibly placed there by someone, or having to stealing anything to acquire it, and because of that, Alice knew he was proud of the dingy little hovel.

"Good news?" Alice asked when she saw the tiny smile make its way on to his face when he looked down at the cracked cellphone screen.

Bunny glanced up and saw a look of amused suspicion on Alice's face. He quickly stifled his smile with a cough and snapped his phone closed. "No, not really. Just'a message from a friend."

"A friend?"

"Yes, a friend."

"What kind of friend?" Alice asked curiously as she made a swift grab for his phone.

"The friendly kind," He deadpanned.

The Aussie had seen her move coming from a mile away. He easily dodged it by pulling his arm back so his phone was way out of Alice's reach. She tried once more, but he just blocked her with his other arm before holding up a warning finger at her. "Stop it."

"Don't be difficult."

"Don't be a snoop."

Alice leaned back against the porch railing with a small pout. "Fine then. Keep your mysterious friend to yourself, see if I care."

"Good, I will."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"_Fine._"

Another silence fell as Alice pretended she wasn't interested when Bunny flipped open his phone again and responded back to the message he received.

"That's a nice house," Alice commented conversationally as her eyes roamed over the area beyond the gates of her new home. She decided to let the evasive man have his privacy, for now.

Bunny looked up from his phone. "Which one?"

"That one," Alice replied, pointing to a two-story, Colonial home with a dark blue roof that lay a little ways down the road from hers.

Bunny looked at the mentioned house and immediately grimaced.

"What?" Alice asked. "You don't agree?"

He shook his head as he slipped his phone back into his pocket. "No, no, it's not that. The house is beautiful. Pr'bably one of the best lookin' in town. It's just...I know the kid that lives there."

"Ah, I see," Alice mused. "Another friend of yours?"

Bunny snorted. "Not really. He's a friend of a friend, and a real pain in my ass."

"A mutual friend then."

"Yeah I guess," Bunny mumbled before standing up straight again. "Speakin' of which, I've got a lunch date with a couple of gumbies I need to get to, but I'd hate to leave ya here alone with the witch and movers though."

Alice waved him off like a queen would her court jester. "Go ahead. I'd feel awful if you had to cancel your plans on my behalf."

"Ya sure?" He asked. "You wanna come with me? I'm sure they'll love ya."

"Perhaps some other time. I don't think I'm ready to be out and about the town just yet. There's plenty of unpacking I need to do here first."

Bunny lingered for several more minutes, but eventually Alice was able to convince him to go on without her. He left reluctantly after promising that he would be back within the next hour. She watched his car drive away until it was gone from sight before stepping down from the porch and making her way around the side of the house. Bunny had mentioned the home's main attraction, a sizable rose garden and maze, but Alice had scared off the Realtor before she had a chance to show it to the disquieting girl.

The rose garden wasn't entirely dead. The hedge walls were still up and arranged in the form of a maze. They were unkempt and unruly, definitely in need of a good trimming, but the leaves were not entirely brown and dried up. For the most part, the garden kept itself alive. The roses were completely dead though. If Alice ever decided to restore the garden, she would need to plant new flowers.

She found the entrance of the maze a little ways from the back door of the house and leisurely begun to navigate her way through it.

The house was a bit of a project in progress, but Alice could see herself living there.

* * *

**AN: Again, so sorry for not updating this story earlier. It kind of just slipped to the back of my mind. Good news though, I've already have the next chapter finished except for my final edit so I should post it within a few days. However, ****since the rest of the story is still a blur right now, I'm not entirely sure when Alice and Jack will meet. I'll try to make it soon though. On the bright side, next chapter introduces Jack and Tooth!**

**And just like with my other stories, if you see a mistake in the content, leave me a review letting me know and I'll fix it. Thanks! **

**Don't forget to review! Reviews let me know that I should continue writing!**

**~Scorpiofreak~**


	3. Jack and Tooth

**AN: Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them! I know I'm seriously dropping the ball with the updating for this story and I feel terrible about it. Sometimes it's just hard getting in the mood to write AU's.**

**As quick background info before reading: Jack is eighteen, Toothiana is Twenty, and just encase you forgot Bunny and Alice's ages, he is twenty-four and she is nineteen.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians or Alice: Madness Returns.**

* * *

Something in the back of his mind told Jack that he really shouldn't have been as surprised as he was when he saw the activity buzzing around the usually vacant yard of old Lady Hawthorne's house.

Several days ago, he remembered seeing a woman standing just outside the front gates of the old, three-story Victorian home, fiddling with the padlock and chain that kept the gates shut and the property free of trespassers.

At the time, it did seem rather odd that the woman was there since Jack has seen very few people go beyond the front gates in many, many years, but after coming home from school that Friday to find a moving truck parked in the long, gravel driveway that led up to the front of the house, it became blatantly obvious that old Lady Hawthorne's "haunted" house, had finally been sold. After nearly ten years of being empty and abandoned.

It must've been a Realtor that Jack saw outside the gates early that Monday morning when he was walking his little sister to her bus stop. In hindsight, maybe he should've known that. The woman did have a bit of a realtor-y look to her. What with her classic, "I'm-an-important-business-woman-so-don't-bother-me" choice in fashion; a tight black skirt and heels, a snazzy red blazer, and a cellphone glued to the side of her face as she struggled with the daunting task of juggling her purse, the keys to the padlock and chain, and chewing out the poor soul on the other end of the belittling phone call.

Her presence and purpose at Lady Hawthorne's place should've been obvious if Jack had paid closer attention, but as it were, he hadn't. When he saw her at the gates, it was a Monday morning and he was late for school. So between trying to get his sister to her bus stop on time, and doing his last-minute science homework that was due first period, Jack didn't have much brain capacity to do more than give the woman a fleeting glance and briefly note how weird it was that she was there.

But now that it was Friday and Jack was done with school for the week, he took the time to observe the looming, Victorian house down the road for a few minutes before unlocking his front door. He tried to see if he could catch a glimpse of the new owners, but he was a little too far away to get a decent look. It didn't come as much of a disappointment though. Jack was sure this new development would be the talk of the town for the next couple of days, maybe even longer.

The suburban town of Burgess, Pennsylvania was one of those really small towns with nothing particularly fun to do and where nothing interesting ever happens. However, on the rare occasion that something actually _does_ happen, it was all anybody could ever talk about.

It was also one of those small towns were everybody knew everybody's business because gossip was practically more valuable than paper money. People latched on to it like leeches sometimes, especially if it involved a bad crime, a juicy scandal, or a mysterious new resident.

Jack made a note to himself, as he leisurely made his way to his bedroom to put away his book-bag and change his clothes, to ask his father what he knew about the house.

His father, Thomas Overland, was a local architect and had mentioned a few times before that he had helped design several of the recently built homes in Burgess, which didn't include Lady Hawthorne's house (or even the Overland's old Colonial home), but he used to do repairs there all the time for the old woman who lived there, Margaret Hawthorne.

Jack didn't remember much about Lady Hawthorne since she died thirteen years ago, but he remembered when his mother used to take him over to the old woman's house during warm afternoons in the Spring and he would run around her beautiful, rose garden maze while she and his mother sat and drank tea together. Miss Hawthorne had the best rose garden in town. It won a whole assortment of gardening competitions and awards for its extravagance and beauty.

She had lived on her own for decades after becoming a widow in her early 40's, so her house and garden had been her pride and joy. Unfortunately, when their owner passed on, there was no one to inherit the property and its upkeep became nonexistent. The garden died along with Lady Hawthorne and the house was left to stand alone on the solitary hill that only housed two other homes.

It was sad to watch such a highly prized and deeply loved home wilt away like Lady Hawthorne's red roses, but it was just bad luck that the house never sold. Although, whether it didn't sell because of a bad housing market, or the property's ill reputation (what with it being labelled as haunted and all), Jack had no idea.

He didn't give it all that much thought though. He only stopped by his house long enough to change his clothes and leave a note for his mom who was out running errands. There would be plenty of time for him to catch up on the latest town gossip at dinner. His mother just so happened to be one of those big gossip bugs and she was probably at the supermarket right now, getting her fix from the other Burgess busybodies. Housewives gotta have hobbies too, he supposed.

He'd get the exclusive scoop from her later.

For now, Jack had somewhere he needed to be, and he was already running late.

Once a month, usually at the same time and place, Jack met up with a couple of his friends for lunch. They would sit around, have a little food, and just talk about what they've been up to since their last get-together -or as his friend Toothiana liked to call it, "Touching base".

The monthly meet-ups had been Tooth's idea. Ever since she graduated high school last year and started college - and also inadvertently leaving Jack all on his lonesome because he had been one grade level behind her - her work load had gotten considerably bigger and she feared losing touch with him and her other friends. Therefore, she decided routine luncheons would be the perfect solution.

They always met in this little café, right in the center of town square. It was a quiet and quaint little establishment with reasonably affordable prices, even for a college student. Although, it didn't really make much of a difference to Tooth, who happened to be the versatile queen of scholarships, but the food was good and the atmosphere was decent so Jack never felt the need to complain.

"You're late, Jackson," Tooth spoke in a low, sing-song tone. She didn't look up from her menu as he took the seat directly across from her.

Although she sometimes liked to pretend she was annoyed or angry, Toothiana Fae never truly was. Or at least, not when it came to her friends. Her bubbly and lovable personality would never allow it. She was just one of those positive types of people that you always found yourself subconsciously gravitating to. Her good nature was evident to anybody who looked her way. It shined along with her bright, friendly smile and showed itself constantly in her colorful, creative clothing.

"Yeah well, I'm obviously not the only one," Jack shot back in the same tone as he gestured to the other empty seats at the table. "So cut me some slack."

"I'm just saying, why bother scheduling a meeting time when nobody's going to follow it?" Tooth asked rhetorically before putting down her menu in favor of the fresh glass of ice tea the waiter just placed in front of her.

"Where are the others?" Jack asked after the nicely dressed waiter left with his drink order.

"Sandy and North both called me last night and told me they weren't going to make it, but Bunny should be here any minute now," Tooth reported while looking back down at her menu. "He said he's running late because he's helping a friend out with something important."

Jack grimaced when she mentioned the grumpy Aussie. "Ugh, Bunny's coming too?"

Tooth rolled her eyes at him. "Of course Bunny's coming, Jack. He's our friend, why wouldn't he?"

"Correction: he's _your_ friend."

"Don't be like that. He's your friend too."

"The guy hates my guts!"

"Oh he does not!" Tooth laughed, brushing off his words as if they were too ludicrous to even consider. "Yes, you two are very different people and sometimes you don't get along so well, but he doesn't hate you, Jack. Now stop being so negative. You know I don't like that."

"He _hates_ me, Tooth," Jack stressed slowly, leaning slightly over the table. "I can see it in his crotchety old eyes, clear as day."

"I'm not hearing this," The small woman said flippantly with a dismissive wave of her dark-skinned hand. Why did the men in her life always have to bicker with each other so much? Was it too much to ask that they all just get along?

"And do you know why he hates me so much?"

"Oh not this again," Tooth sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Because you and me used to date," Jack replied with conviction.

"Can't we just have a nice lunch today?"

"You know it's true."

"And why would Bunny hate you for that?"

"Because he's freakin' in love with you, Tooth! How many times do I have to tell you?"

Tooth only rolled her eyes again and looked back down at her menu. "We're not discussing this right now. We don't talk like that about friends when they're not around. I won't have it."

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, that was her prerogative, but Jack wasn't nearly as selectively ignorant when it came to Bunny's bad attitude towards him. It was a discussion he and Tooth have had over and over again ever since he first met the guy. The cranky Aussie _clearly_ had it bad for the small woman, that much was obvious, even to Jack, and he usually wasn't very good at picking up on vibes.

Jack really couldn't figure out Bunny's problem though. It had to go deeper than just Jack and Tooth being former high school sweethearts. Yes, they used to be an item, but they weren't anymore and he didn't care who Tooth decided to date, just as long as they treated her right and she was happy. Any opinion of Jack's beyond that was irrelevant.

He could somewhat understand that there might be some lingering jealousy from Bunny because he has been repeatedly friend-zoned by an oblivious Tooth, but seriously, it was nearly a year ago that Jack and Tooth stopped dating. Their break-up had been a mutual decision. It wasn't messy in any way and lacked all the typical drama that often followed a break-up between two teenagers in high school. It was a simple, straight-forward case of a relationship that had lost its endearing spark.

It wasn't stimulating enough in his opinion, if Jack really thought about it. Their relationship had been too easy. They were both high in energy (Tooth sometimes being a few notches higher than Jack) and similar in personalities, which grew a little boring for Jack after a few years. Compatibility was something a lot of people search their entire lives to find, but Jack found himself somewhat repugnant to the idea, oddly enough.

In all honesty though, he had never been much for romance in the first place. The only reason he had started dating Tooth his freshman year was because she was his only real friend and everybody thought they were dating anyways, so the two just sort of rolled with it. Nothing really changed between them except for the title they labelled themselves with, or rather, the title they let others label them with. They were never really lovey-dovey. Most of the relationship things they did were done either out of bored, or expectation. It was only after they had separated and Jack had a chance to really look back on things that he realized he and Tooth worked better just as friends.

Tooth, however, greatly favored the idea of starting anew in college. A "clean slate", being another term she used quite often. She was an overachiever with an idealistic drive for herself, for sure. While Jack was more of a "one-day-at-a-time" sort of guy. She had clear goals in mind and the only direction she was heading was forward. Their personalities were similar in the sense that they were both positive and outgoing, but maturity and determination is where they truly differ. Tooth was ready to be an adult, Jack wasn't.

Like he said though, that had been over a year ago and the two had long-since reinstated their status as close friends. There really shouldn't be any reason for Bunny to dislike him so much other than the fact that Jack always had too much fun pranking and teasing the older man, consistently, but was that really a good reason to _hate_ someone?

In any case, the only person keeping Bunny from having a chance with Tooth was himself, not Jack. Of course, the Aussie was too thick-headed to realize it though, always wanting to blame others before blaming himself.

Jack let out a long sigh and ran a hand through his shaggy, chestnut brown hair before leaning back against his chair as their waiter came back with his requested drink. He picked up the straw the waiter left behind and idly twisted the white paper wrapping off. "All I'm saying, babe, is that the reason Bunny can't stand me isn't just because I'm annoying."

"True, you being annoying doesn't even break the surface of why I can't stand you, Frostbite."

At the sudden sound of an accented voice using one of Jack's most hated nicknames, the teenage boy choked on his soda and cringed as the carbonation burned his sinuses, making him cough violently. Tooth abruptly looked up from her menu and gasped loudly when she spotted Bunny standing behind Jack's chair with crossed arms and a smirk. The sound caused a few nearby café patrons to look up from their meals and conversations.

"Aster!" Tooth smiled brightly, immediately getting up from her chair and making her way over to her friend, almost bumping into a neighboring couple's table in her haste. "It's so good to see you! I was starting to think you weren't going to show up."

Bunny dropped his arms and tensed up out of reflex when the small woman stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his middle, but relaxed seconds later when a pleasant warmth erupted deep within his chest from her touch.

"I just saw ya last week, Tooth," Bunny mumbled against her hair as he hesitantly returned her friendly embrace. Her head was tucked perfectly underneath his chin and his senses were pleasantly flooded with the smell of her jasmine shampoo. "Remember? I was helping your uncle unload that new dental equipment from the delivery truck."

She released him and let her arms drop to her sides. She looked up at him with brightness in her exotic, fuchsia eyes, having to crane her head back quite a bit to meet his. Even with the added height from her wedged sandals, Tooth barely came up to eye level with Bunny's shoulders.

"Oh, I know that!" Tooth waved her hand flippantly as she made her way back to her seat. "But between working as his receptionist, my linguistic classes, and all the homework in between, last week seemed like forever ago! Honestly, its been non-stop for me lately. I was surprised I even had the time to come to lunch today."

"I bet," Bunny remarked, taking the empty seat next to Jack who had been silently watching their exchange while tenderly rubbing his stinging throat. "So, I can only guess that you guys were just talkin' about me?"

"Yes, but in a good way," Tooth assured him. "Weren't we, Jack?"

"Singing praises," Jack replied dryly into his glass as he risked taking another sip of his drink.

Bunny snorted. "Sure you were."

"Scout's honor," Jack promised, giving the Aussie the trademark hand sign for the boy scouts, even though they both knew Jack was never even remotely in the scouts.

"You know, I'll never understand how a guy who doesn't even look like he's hit puberty yet can have such a big attitude."

"Oh har, har, Kangaroo," Jack laughed sarcastically. "That one just never gets old, does it?"

"Boys behave," Tooth demanded sternly. "I want to have a nice lunch today."

Both males turned away from each other begrudgingly as they looked down at their menus. Tooth rolled her eyes as they mumbled under their breaths.

When the waiter came around with his small notepad, asking if everybody had come to a decision, Tooth cheerfully ordered a blueberry muffin and a yogurt parfait, almost blinding the old waiter with her dazzling disposition. In a less enthusiastic tone, Jack ordered a simple burger and fries while Bunny went with a bowl of some sort of carrot and potato stew.

"So," Tooth quipped as the waiter darted away with their menus. "Why are you so late, Mr. Handyman?"

"Long story, darlin'," Bunny replied evasively, already feeling himself detach from the present as he pulled his gaze away from Tooth's to stare blankly out a nearby window.

Nobody knew about Alice, not even Tooth. The green-eyed girl had always been a piece of Bunny's private life that he kept close to the chest. She wasn't necessarily a deep, dark secret or anything, but he never felt comfortable enough talking about her with anyone. Alice was rooted deeply into his checkered past and to talk about her would mean talking about his past, which he was definitely not ready for.

At his suddenly distant behavior, he heard Tooth make a soft noise from across the table, but he refused to look her way again, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist her big, confused eyes if she asked him what was on his mind.

Next to him, Jack was uncharacteristically quiet, which told the Aussie that Tooth was probably silently conversing with him, giving her young friend a questioning frown and covertly nodding her head in Bunny's direction while he pretended he wasn't aware of anything. He didn't even need to look to know that Jack just shrugged his shoulders in response to the woman's wordless inquiries. After all, if Tooth didn't know what was now going through Bunny's head, nobody did, least of all Frostbite.

The silence between them went on like that for a while as the café patrons around them continued with their relaxed chatter. Jack let out a bored sigh and slumped further down into his seat while Tooth sipped idly at her ice tea, watching Bunny closely with a thoughtful look.

Bunny continued to stare listlessly at the pedestrians outside the café window until he felt Tooth gently place a hand on his forearm. He looked down at the small fingers that rested against his arm. His green eyes stared appreciatively at the way her soft, mocha-colored skin blended nicely with his own (which was tanned surprisingly well from all the work he did outside) and the dark hair that ran along his arm.

"Bunny?"

His eyes snapped up to meet her own fuchsia eyes, set inside her beautiful heart-shaped face. It was framed by dark brown hair, cut neatly into a layered bob with a thick streak of blonde on one side, and an expertly woven waterfall braid on the other. She must've just gotten her hair done, Bunny noted. It looked nice.

Bunny was never much of a romantic, but his life had been remarkably grey for a long time before meeting Tooth. The color had started to drain out when his parents died and it had only gotten worse during his time as an orphan. For a short while, the color came back when he was with Alice, but unsurprisingly, it drained right back out again when they were separated.

When he had first met Tooth, on a sunny, Spring afternoon a few months after drifting into Burgess earlier that Winter, he saw nothing but color. Literally. She was covered in it. She was like a crayola crayon box. She nearly blinded him, she looked so colorful.

Even now she was a bright splash of color within the sea of plainly dressed café patrons. She wore a pretty teal, ruffled blouse with a yellow shawl wrapped loosely around her neck. Her short legs adorned a pair of blue Capri pants that clung nicely to her wide hips (thank God she was sitting down, otherwise he would've been staring). She also had gold bangles around her small wrists and her favorite pair of yellow feather earrings hanging from her ears.

"You look pretty today," Bunny said. The compliment may have been given with a hint of false innocence in hopes of shifting her focus on to something else, but he really meant it.

She rolled her eyes at him, seeing straight through his half-assed diversion tactic, but it still worked in some small way. True compliments disguised as false compliments were the only way Bunny could say what he really thought of Tooth without getting all flustered and embarrassed.

"Don't even try and shake me off," She huffed, agitated by the attempted brush-off.

Of course she could never just take a compliment at face value, even when it was sincere. Much like a lot of women, Tooth liked to poke fun at her many "flaws", which Bunny always thought was ridiculous because he found her completely perfect. She described herself as a manic, hobbit-sized, flat-chested spazz with a big butt and a big mouth. Yes, Tooth could be a little hyperactive and overly talkative sometimes, and she was quite short, but she somehow made all that look so cute and endearing. And true, she wasn't particularly gifted in the bust department, but what did that matter? And as for the big butt part, well...he has never understood how women in general, least of all Tooth, could say that like it was a bad thing, because it wasn't. It really wasn't.

"You're always getting lost in thought," She said softly. "I just wanna know where you go."

Bunny felt a pang of guilt then, knowing he was going to feel real bad when he finally told Tooth about Alice. She would look at him with shocked eyes and she'd ask him why he didn't tell her sooner. Maybe she would be disappointed, and maybe she wouldn't, but the idea still made him feel bad. She always tried to encourage him to share more with her, to be more open with her because she wanted him to see that he could trust her with anything, which he did, but he didn't want to drag her into all the ugliness that he had been through. It was definitely going to sting when she found out he had gone so long without ever telling her about the most important person in his life.

"Nowhere exciting, Darlin'. So don't you worry about it."

Tooth stared hard at him for a few more seconds, trying to gauge whether his statement was made up of as much bullshit as she suspected it was, before eventually letting it go with a defeated sigh once she realized that was the most she was going to get out of him. She gave him a playful sneer that said, _'Fine! Be that way!'_, before replacing it with another smile. Bunny returned it with a small one of his own as he pleasantly noted that the small woman still hadn't removed her hand from his arm. He looked down at it and wished she would keep it there forever, but his wishful thinking was shattered to pieces barely a second later when Jack suddenly coughed loudly into his fist, ruining the moment.

"As much fun as it is to sit here and watch you two make goo goo eyes at each other, I surprisingly feel the overwhelming desire to talk about something _else_."

"Alright smart ass," Bunny said grouchily as Tooth finally pulled her hand back over to her side of the table. "What do ya want to talk about then?"

Jack pursed his lips in thought. "Has small town news gotten around the square yet about the new arrival?"

"New arrival?" Tooth echoed curiously.

"Yeah, someone's finally moving into ol' Lady Hawthorne's place. I saw a moving truck inside the gates when I came home from school today."

Tooth's brow knotted tightly as she let out a low hum, picking her brain. "Hawthorne...which one was that again?"

"The old, gloomy Victorian up the street from mine. You know, with the huge garden maze in the backyard."

"Oh yeah! I remember now," Tooth smiled brightly in recognition. "Wow really? Someone's moving in? That sounds exciting! Did you hear about this yet, Bunny?"

Bunny let out a noncommittal grunt and shrugged one of his shoulders before mumbling, "Might've heard some yammerings 'bout it around town."

"Well, I think it's fantastic," Tooth quipped. "Have you met the new owners yet?"

Jack shook his head. "No, not yet, but when Ma finds out, she'll probably bake them a pie or something and force me to deliver it. Make me report back like some soldier doing recon."

"That doesn't sound too bad. What's wrong with being friendly to new neighbors?"

"Nothing's wrong with it. I'm just saying, if she wants to meet them so badly - and she _always_ does - than she should just buy a box of stale cookies from the store and walk over there like everybody else. I don't see why she has to make such an event out of things all the time."

"She's just trying to give her own warm welcoming a personal touch. I think it's nice."

"You think everything's nice, Tooth."

"It's called being positive, Jackie. You should try it sometime."

"Nah, I think I tried that once in the fourth grade, but I also got lice that year, so now I have a bad association with it."

"Don't be gross. We're in a restaurant."

As the two babbled away, Bunny remained silent while pretending to be more interested in receiving their food than the subject of Jack's new neighbor(s). He wasn't particularly worried about the Overland family storming the gates of Alice's new house in their friendly, welcoming ways, especially if they were going to send Jack over first. Best case scenario, Frostbite will say something cocky and stupid when he introduced himself to Alice, she would get annoyed at his obnoxious American attitude and slam the door in his face, he would then report back home with the news that their new neighbor was a reclusive shrew, and his parents would think it best if they just left her alone.

Worst case scenario, he'll get a displeasing call from Alice, informing him that there was a bunch of looky-loos loitering around her yard, and she would insist he come over and do something about it, but he doubted that would happen. From what he's heard, the Overland family was friendly, just like all the founding Burgess families, but they weren't overbearing towards strangers. Bunny never met Jack's mother or sister, but Tooth said they were both lovely so he had no cause to think ill of them. He knew Jack's father though. Not very well, but he knew him. Bunny sometimes did construction work on some of the new houses Jack's father helped design and occasionally he would see the man on some of the sites. The older man was aware of him too, but most likely just identified him as "that one Australian fellow".

Regardless, he perceived them as good people, which was quite an amazing discovery since their son was such an annoying little bugger.

He decided not to think further on it though. The rest of lunch went on as it normally did when their food finally arrived. Bunny barely suppressed a grateful moan as the arrival of their food interrupted Tooth's engaging talk about plaque build-up.

Tooth hummed in delight when the waiter placed a large sundae glass filled with layers of sweet yogurt, fresh fruit, and crunchy granola in front of her. She shook her head in disappointment though, when she caught sight of Jack's greasy, artery-clogging meal. She started scolding him on how unhealthy his food choices were, but Jack just childishly threw a french fry at her, which she immediately retaliated with a raspberry. A miniature food fight then broke out between the two giggly, young adults as they flicked pieces of their food back and forth at each other while Bunny picked half-heartedly at his soup. The fight only stopped when a stray pickle landed in his bowl and he gave the two friends a mean glare. There was a chorus of "Sorry Bunny" and "she started it" before they all went back to their meals and ate like adults.

Afterwards, they sat around the café for a little longer, shooting the breeze, until Bunny looked down at his watch and realized he had places he needed to be, namely, back with Alice.

"Well, great meetin' everyone," Bunny commented with a sigh as he fished his wallet out of his pants pocket. "It's been fun, but it's time for me to be shovin' off now."

"What's on the agenda?" Tooth asked while pulling out her own wallet from her peacock feathered purse.

"Not much. Might pop over to Sanderson's office for 'while, see how he's been doin'."

"Tell him I said hello, won't you?"

"Sure thing," Bunny nodded before bidding his friends goodbye and turning to leave the café.

Tooth looked at Jack. "What about you?"

He shrugged his shoulders as he leaned back into his chair, pushing it backwards until he was balancing on only the back two legs. "I don't know yet. I think I'll just bum around town square for a bit. I don't have to go to work until tomorrow so I got some free time. That blonde cutie that wears too much blue eye shadow from school got a job at that ice cream parlor across the street from the library. Might go chat it up with her."

"Madison McBride?" Tooth looked up from her pocket-book. "Oh Jack, don't get involved with her. She was in the geometry class I worked as a student aid in. She's two-faced."

"Maybe, but if I lay down a bit of charm, I bet she'll let me copy her answers for that Hamlet reading analysis packet we have due on Monday. It's like fifteen pages long and I haven't even started yet."

Tooth rolled her eyes as she pulled out a few dollar bills and tossed them on to the center of the table. "Unbelievable," She muttered while standing up from the table and smoothing out the front of her shirt.

"Hey, at least I'm not trying to fool around with her or anything," He defended himself. He tried to keep his expression innocent, but he knew the short woman could see the teasing glint in his azure eyes. "Is that what you thought I meant?"

"_Goodbye_ Jack," Tooth called over her shoulder before disappearing out of the café.

Jack watched her go while chuckling softly to himself. He then reached into the back pocket of his worn, blue jeans and pulled out his own wallet. He placed what remained of their bill, plus a reasonable tip, before standing up from the table and making his way out of the café.

~O~

Incidentally, Jack didn't end up going to the ice cream parlor and badgering Madison into letting him cheat off her. He realized, when he was about halfway there, that even though he really needed to finish that packet for English, Tooth was right about the girl being shamelessly two-faced, and he really didn't feel like surrounding himself with that right now. He'd probably have better luck on his own anyways.

So instead, Jack walked around town square for a few hours, window shopping through the small outlet stores while occasionally striking up random conversations with anybody who'd have him. Some of the older townspeople he passed stopped long enough to ask him how his parents were doing, but for the most part, people just ignored him.

It was almost sunset before Jack decided to head back home for the evening. He hitched the nearest bus heading towards the outskirts of Burgess where the Overland household was located. It was always a bit of a hassle traveling back and forth between his house and town, but it never really bothered Jack. Living on the outskirts offered a little more space and freedom than living in town did. There were only three houses that made up his neighborhood; the Meldrum house, which was owned by a middle-aged couple who kept to themselves, the Overland's own cozy, Colonial home, and of course, Lady Hawthorne's Victorian home.

They were spread out a good enough distance from each other to where you could play music as loud as you wanted and nobody would complain, but still close enough to where if you were being murdered, someone would hear you screaming and call the cops...hopefully.

The sun had almost completely set by the time he reached his bus stop. He looked briefly towards the dwindling sunlight along the horizon and suppressed a wince, realizing he might've overestimated how much time he had before dark. He probably should've left town earlier, or flagged down a bus with fewer stops. His mother wasn't going to be very happy with him when he got home.

If he knew it would change his situation, Jack would've picked up the pace, but he already knew it wouldn't, so he didn't even bother. He just continued walking along the sidewalk at a cruising speed with one hand shoved inside his blue hoodie pocket, and the other holding his shoes. The temperature had been gradually decreasing over the past few weeks and Jack could tell that Autumn was just around the corner. He had removed his shoes (a ratty pair of black converse) almost as soon as he stepped off the public bus. The pavement was cool enough to walk on now that the sun wasn't constantly beating down on it.

If Tooth had been walking with him, she probably would've tsked loudly and made a disapproving comment about how Jack shouldn't walk around without any shoes on, just like she had many times before. She called it unhygienic and dangerous, but Jack called it relaxing.

He took his time walking the rest of the way home from the bus stop. He was already anticipating a lecture from his mother, who would no doubt jump him as soon as he entered the kitchen. He was already late for curfew, which was unacceptable in his mother's eyes, so it didn't matter how late he was. He had forgotten to leave a note before going out and he always got an earful from his mother whenever he did that. It was all now a matter of prolonging the inevitable.

With any luck, his dad would already be home. He would speak up in Jack's defense. His dad was incredibly more laid back, and less neurotic than his mom. He saw the total ridiculousness of giving an eighteen year old senior in high school a curfew and was cool enough to lessen the proverbial blow that came from his overbearing wife on those rare occasions when Jack lost track of time. However, despite his father's role as the voice of reason, mom's word was law in the Overland household and his curfew would remain standing until Jack moved out.

Although, it hadn't always been like that. He had much more freedom when he first entered high school. His mother had only become more grossly overprotective than usual in recent years.

A guy almost drowns in a pond _once_ and he never hears the end of it.

When the teen's home finally came into view, he made a curious noise when he looked further up the street and saw the windows of Lady Hawthorne's house lit up brightly from the inside, truly confirming that someone had indeed moved in. Jack snorted softly to himself at how his mind was almost blown by such a silly thing, even though it really was an unusual sight to see the lights on inside the house again after nearly a decade of darkness.

His blue eyes quickly scanned the house as he stepped on to the soft, green grass of his yard and made his way to his front door. He noticed that the moving truck was now gone and there were no longer any boxes or furniture laying on the gravel driveway, waiting to be taken inside. He watched the empty windows for a moment as he fished around inside his hoodie pocket for his house key until his fingers curled the small piece of metal and he stepped up to his door.

However, just as Jack was about to turn the key, he saw something move in the corner of his eye. He turned his head back towards the neighboring home and squinted through the growing darkness until he realized there was someone standing on the porch, causing him to blink almost owlishly in surprise. He couldn't see much of the person because the house was too far away and it was already too dark outside to get a decent look, especially when the person had a lit window as a backdrop, but he could definitely make out someone standing on the front porch.

At a loss for anything else to do, and also feeling a little stupid because he wasn't sure the person was even looking in his direction, Jack tentatively raised a hand and waved.

Unsurprisingly, the figure gave no indication that they had seen him. They only lingered on the porch for a few more moments, seemingly staring off into the empty landscape that surrounded their pitiful neighborhood, before turning away and moving back inside.

Jack watched their front door open and close again before doing the same with his own, mumbling under his breath as he stepped into the warm atmosphere of his family home.

* * *

**AN: No, Jack's not going to be a womanizer in this story, just in case you were wondering. I think it's totally within his character to be a dorky flirt, but not someone who actually follows through and sleeps around.**

**I gave a basic description of a humanized Tooth based on what I've noticed was popular in human!Tooth fanart, which is dark skin due to Indian descent, short hair (with maybe some colored streaks depending on artist's preferences), below average in height with wide hips, and a colorful wardrobe. Honestly though, you guys can imagine her as you want. Same goes with Alice and her wardrobe. I won't go too much into detail with appearances and outfits except when I'm introducing a new character with their starting outfit, or if it's part of the imagery of that certain scene.**

**And since I'm trying to make this story as realistic as possible - Jack has brown hair, not white. Sorry. I let him keep his blue eyes though.**

**~Scorpiofreak~**


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